Ukraine is preparing to sue Russia in international courts to recover damages for property losses in Crimea, said Ukraine’s Minister of Justice Pavlo Petrenko, reports Espreso TV, April 3, citing Interfax Ukraine.

Petrenko said the initial estimates for these losses will be ready next week.

“The Ministry of Justice is currently preparing appropriate amendments to the claims about Crimea in the international courts. I expect to have the initial expert opinions on our losses in Crimea next week,” he said.

According to Petrenko, the claims will deal with property losses suffered by the Ministry of Energy and Coal, especially the Black Sea shelf belonging to the Black Sea Oil and Gas Company (Chornomornaftohas). Also included are losses by the Ministry of Infrastructure –the railroads, real estate, road, ships and planes remaining on Crimean territory–as well as damages suffered by the State Administration from the loss of health and tourist establishments and cultural heritage sites.

“We will obtain the market values for these initial properties and we will be able to prepare demands for compensation from the Russian Federation for the illegal activities they have undertaken in Crimea,” said Petrenko. In his view, Ukraine’s judicial prospects are quite positive in these cases, since all international bodies considered the actions of the Russian Federation illegal.

He explained that Russia has been deemed the aggressor, who carried out a de factor annexation of the territory of a neighboring country on European territory.

“We have the first verdict of the European Court of Human Rights, which in an unusually short period of time after the announcement by the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice — literally in just several hours — reached the decision to label the actions of the Russian Federation illegal and to order it to withdraw its troops,” Petrenko said.

“Even though Russia has ignored these decisions, according to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and in accordance with the regulations of the Council of Europe, Russia’s refusal to abide by these decisions provides the necessary grounds for full compensation of losses by the injured party,” he explained.

Petrenko added that Ukraine is preparing possible appeals to other international courts in the Naftohaz question (regarding the Black Sea Oil and Gas subsidiary of the state-owned oil and gas company), as well as issues pertaining to the violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine.” He also said that the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution calling for the territorial integrity of Ukraine. “This decision is extremely serious in terms of the evidence that Ukraine is using for seeking compensation for losses caused by the Russian Federation,” Petrenko said.

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Excellent! The damages should easily be in the trillions of dollars USD! The oil and gas sector alone in the Crimea is arguably sufficient to cover all the oil and gas needs of the Ukraine and even of some if not most of Western Europe for decades to come! Imagine that loss of revenue. And everyone knows of the beautiful coastline resort area that the Crimea has, as well as it’s total real estate value (tax base) for the next centuries! Wow! I think all of the budget of Russia could not buy out this price tag! Certainly, if Russia chooses not to pay, then all debts to Russia by the Ukraine (as a first step!) are null and void (as Russia is the bigger debtor to Ukraine, not the other way around!). As well, all of the Russian pipelines that run through Ukraine are thereby confiscated (as collateral) for debts Russia owes to Ukraine (which debts far exceed the meager value of these pipelines that use the Ukrainian soil–even contaminating that soil with oil and gas leakages, no doubt!) thereby giving Russia no means to supply or ship oil through Ukraine to Western Europe (until all the trillions of dollars of value for the Crimea are paid in full!). For Russia then to invade mainland Ukraine (because they cannot pay the compensation or debt for what they illegally stole) would be seen by ALL the world (East and West!) as outright hostility and a violation of ALL International Treaties, Agreements and Law, At that time, if the 11 nations that previously supported Russia in the take over and illegal referendum of the Crimea continue to support Russia, then they too should be black-listed and have economic sanctions placed against them as they are accessories thereby to illegal actions (offering aid and assistance to a rogue nation, namely Putin’s restrictive Russian regime!). Either you support the rule of International Law (as Putin claimed to do last year in defense of Syria) or you are seen to have become a criminal nation that lives irresponsibly outcast from civilization (existing as a law only unto yourself–wherein life becomes ‘short, brutish and nasty’ to quote Thomas Hobbes, the Social Philosopher)! The choice is clear; either you are for the civilized values and legal standards of this International World; or, you openly stand against all that is Internationally accepted as decent and binding upon a free and open society–and thereby suffer the consequences of that contrary decision, both economically and militarily to your own detriment.

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